The Washington critic., 1887-04-06
ANOTHER coLoREp SPECTRE.

fnlp ASSOCIATION ucClufcs lnul inc cn.
forccmcnt of the provisions of the
fourth section of the Interstate Com.
merce Act means destruction to the
railroad interests Of the South; while
the representatives Of various lines of
water transportation declare with
equal emphasis that It means destruc.
lion TO the steamboat interests of the
West.
This contrariety of opinion as 10 the
effects of yet untricd law Involves one
of the mos, serious questions that has
yet been presented to the Commis.
sioners for their determination.
Another important qIcstion that Is
likely to be sprung upon them at any
moment relates TO the Interpretation of
the first clause of the third section,
which reads as follows;
II shall be unlawful for any common car.
ricr subject 10 the provisions oi this act, 70
make or give any undue or unreasonable
preference or advantage To- any par iculnr
person, company, irn. corporation. or 10
ca'ity,, or any particular description of
traffic In any respect whatsoever, or to sub
ictt any particular rcrson, company, firm,
corporation or locality, or auv particular de
scrintlon Of traffic, to any undue or nnroI'
sonable prejudice or disadvantage in any
o. respect whatsoever,
One would hardly suppose, from
reading Of this section, apparently
so just and equitable in its terms, that
1t is already destroying the peace of
mind Of several prominent Southern
newspapers, and, in some quarters of
the country, provoking acrimonious
criticism.
The "nigger in the woodpile," so to
speak, is the Civil Rights bill, which
Congress, led off by a Democratic
House, and the Democratic House led
off on this measure by so stalwart
Southern Rights man as Judge Reagan,
deliberately resurrected and injected
into the bowels of the Interstate Com.
merce law"
'Its language" says the Atlanta
Constitution, sis clear and unmistak.
able, and there is no escape from It's
provisions, Says the Houston Posi-,
in the immediate hearing of Judge
Reagan's old constituents: zone is al
most tempted to think that the South.
ern members who voted for the bill
were caught with that particular kind
of bait usually employed in catching
suckers"
The Post, however, does not autici-
pate anything like the enforcement in
the South Of those particular con-
ditions understood to be embraced In
the civil rights idea, because the
grander law of nature regulates these
things and II is just as impossible to
blend the two races socially us 1t is to
mix oil and water,
Yet If there Is one section of the bill
more than another, upon the enforce
ment of which the Commissioners un.
doub,edly will insist, should there be
any attempt 10 evade 1t in accordance
with the "grander law of nature" It is
the section In question. The authors
Of the bill very well knew what they
were doing when they put this provis.
ion In; the supporters of the bill knew
equally well what they were doing
when they voted for it, and the bill
would not have got through the Senate
with this clause left out. All that now
remains to be done is TO submit to It.
to define what constitutes undue ol
unreasonable prejudice" or "undue oil
unreasonable preference" but this /.
something on which railroad conduc
tors will scarcely need to be instructed
nor Is 1t probable that the operation oI
the law will be embarrassed or impede
on this account.
The spectre of the color line is bount
TO disappear before the ruthless marct
of commerce and industrial progress
The. "grander law of nature" will regu
late the social phases of the question.
TIE Socialists in Chicago were badly
routed yesterday, and the red flag i
trailing in the dust. Mr.. Nelson, thei
candidate for Mayor, has only himsel
10 blame for the loss of many votes OF
account of various indiscretions o
speech In which he openly indulget
prior to the election, thereby alternating
the support of the more conservativ
element Of his own party, The citi
zens of Chicago generally are to b
congratulated upon the result. ]
might have been unfortunately differ
ent had Garter Harrison remained Il
the field, and thus given the contest
triangular character.
-
Mr.. GLADSTONE seems to have re
nnWnl Ills Youth with all It's Mnnlnr